


Mrs. Potato Head

by sweaterpawslarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Based on a Melanie Martinez Song, Bottom Louis, Confused Harry, Eventual Smut, Feminine Louis, Fluff, I Don't Even Know, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied Zayn Malik/Liam Payne, It's underage bc Louis is fourteen, Liam is a Little Shit, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Original Character(s), Pining Harry, Shy Louis, Size Kink, Top Harry, Underage Louis, Young Love, but he's really mature
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:19:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7783045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweaterpawslarry/pseuds/sweaterpawslarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[ Oh Mrs. Potato Head tell me,<br/>Is it true that pain is beauty?<br/>Does a new face come with a warranty?<br/>Will a pretty face make it better? ]</p><p>"I want to be pretty, Harry"<br/>"But you are Lou, the prettiest"</p><p>or</p><p>Louis just wants to be pretty and no one seems to understand, especially not Harry, who thinks Louis is the most beautiful person he's ever seen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> Harry sees Louis at the mall and follows him around because he’s pretty. Louis catches him and they talk. Friendship blooms.

_"If you weren’t born with it_

_You can buy a couple ornaments"_

 

Louis smiled shyly as he walked past the many perfumes and lotions. They were all so pretty and colourful, made him feel like he was walking through a candy store with so many types of candies. Despite the variety, he knew what he had come for. His smile quickly widened when he found the section with the small red bottles he had grown to love. He ran towards it and was careful to not bump into anything or anyone. He had to go in and out as fast as he could.

He stopped in front of the many bottles and looked at them with wonder, they were beautiful. He contemplated each of them, making sure he was going to buy something he would like but that would last a bit more. Glass? No, he would surely end up breaking them, so plastic it was.

As he was pondering over this, he didn't notice a tall lanky figure looming behind him. Green eyes looked closely at the furrow of Louis' brow which he would have immediately stopped doing if he noticed because crinkles. He observed the way he picked up a small bottle of Japanese Cherry Blossom perfume and held it up to his nose to smell. He smiled when the beautiful boy smiled, clearly liking the smell. And he too jumped when a girl came and asked him if he was looking for something in particular making the shy boy shake his head. The girl nodded and left, not before giving the green-eyed boy a funny look, obviously noticing his staring.

Louis tilted his head to the side when the girl looked behind him and made a weird face before leaving, odd. He turned around and saw a tall boy, with wide green eyes and pale skin, beautiful pale skin. The boy looked nervous but quickly gave Louis a tight smile before turning to walk in the opposite direction not giving Louis a chance to respond.

The caramel haired boy stood still for a moment before shrugging and turning to grab a body lotion to accompany his perfume. He absolutely loved Japanese Cherry Blossom. He smelled them one more time and then proceeded to walk towards the cash register, grabbing a couple of hand antibacterial sanitizers of the same delicious scent.  


After paying, he walked outside and went to sit down on the bench that was right in front of the store, sitting on the right end since there was someone sitting on the other side. He sighed happily and pulled out a hand sanitizer, opening it and pouring a bit on his hand and rubbing it over both of them. As soon as he finished he felt eyes on him and turned to look at the person beside him and _oh_. It was the pretty boy from the store, he gave him a small smile, which was returned with a goofy grin from green eyes.

"Hello, y-you're the cheeky one that was looking at me in the store, a-aren't you?” he said with amusement, chastising himself for being so shy when it was clear the other boy was nervous as well. The boy's cheeks became tinted with red as he recalled what he had done earlier; it had been very creepy and very embarrassing.

He gave a small nod and a small grimace, "Yeah, sorry if I creeped you out. You just..."

Louis' head tilted a bit at the last part, not quite understanding the boy's mumble. "I'm sorry? I-I didn't quite catch that last part", he said trying to find the boys eyes.

The boy nodded and went even redder if possible and turned to look at him, "You just looked very pretty and I-I just, I'm sorry if it was weird". Louis giggled and shook his head, this boy was adorable.

"W-well, I'm glad you think I'm pretty cause I try my best and yeah it was a little odd but also... q-quite cute", he said pushing his fringe out of his eyes.

The boy smiled widely but then it vanished as he made a face of surprise, as if he had forgotten something. He stuck his hand out to shake and said, "M' name's Harry by the way, it is really nice to meet you..."

"Louis", the blue-eyed boy said shyly.

"Louis,” repeated Harry as he pondered on it before grinning, "That's a beautiful name, it suits you!” he exclaimed making Louis laugh; and Harry's grin grew even bigger. "Say would you like to go get something to eat?” He asked nervously. He could have been misreading everything for all he knew he didn’t even know he liked boys in the first place. His doubt faded away though, when Louis giggled and nodded with a blush.

Harry smiled and stood up, offering his hand to Louis. The blue-eyed boy took his hand with his much thinner one and blushed as he stood up. Harry didn't let go of his hand as they made their way through the mall and Louis smiled a little at the gesture. He knew he had just met the boy so he took it as something a gentleman would do. He wasn't up for anything right now; he needed to get to know Harry first.

They stopped at the food court and Harry turned to Louis so he could choose something. Louis chose Chinese food and they made their way towards the small restaurant. They ordered and then went to sit on a table near by to hear when they said their names. They made small talk and found out a few things about each other. They went to the same school, Harry had just turned eighteen and Louis was fourteen; Harry's favourite colour was blue (he wondered why) and Louis' pastel lilac; Harry was into alternative music like Halsey while Louis absolutely adored kpop. All in all they were pretty interesting to one another.

"Harry Styles? Number 17?” the cashier yelled from the restaurant they had ordered. Harry quickly stood up and went to grab their tray of food; it smelled divine. He walked over to the table and sat down before separating their plates. Louis said small thanks before digging in; he had only ordered teriyaki chicken so he finished rather quickly, whilst Harry had ordered the same along with noodles and orange chicken.

"So...” Harry trailed off trying to start conversation again. "Um, do you have anyone special in your life?” the curly haired boy asked shyly. Louis went a bit red and shook his head while playing with his fork.

"Not really but I'm preparing for it though," he responded excitedly. Harry smiled with furrowed eyebrows not quite understanding. Louis laughed and proceeded to explain. "Well you see Harry, as you saw back in the store I like to buy nice things like lotion and perfume cause, well I don't know. I guess I just wanna be pretty for when I meet that special person, I want him to think I'm pretty and be happy with what he sees."

Harry couldn't believe it, Louis was the prettiest boy he had ever seen and he probably didn't even have to try.

"But you _are_ pretty, Lou."

 

oOOo

“Can I confess something?” Harry inquired stopping abruptly. They had long since finished their meal and decided to walk around the mall. Louis stopped as well and lifted his head to look at him, nodding. Harry smiled sheepishly before speaking, “I honestly don’t want this to be the last I hear of you, Louis Tomlinson”

“I can say the same, Harry Styles,” Louis chimed before pulling out his phone and handing it to the older boy. “We should text and you know, maybe we can hang out before school starts”

Harry smiled and nodded enthusiastically, grabbing the phone in his too big hands and typing his number in under ‘Harry :)’. He returned it with a wide grin that the younger boy reciprocated and they continued to walk towards the entrance where Louis’ mom was supposed to pick him up.

“Uh... t-there’s my mum so,” Louis mumbled pointing to a dark blue mini van parked right in front of the sliding doors. Harry nodded and sighed, wishing they would have had more time. They hugged each other and promised they would text soon.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis puts on a lotion that causes an allergic reaction on his hand and freaks out. Harry calls him to hang out and they go and find him a treatment and some new lotion. Also, suspicions arise.  
> Fluff, basically. A filler, basically.

_  
_

_"Just be sure to read the warning, kids_  
_Cause pretty soon you'll be bored of it"_  


After that small date (or so it was in Harry's head) the boys hung out a lot more, it had started out with Harry texting Louis once in a while until he stopped thinking maybe he felt uncomfortable, but then Louis called him whining about 'not talking for a while'. School made no difference in their relationship and Harry’s friends soon became Louis’ and vice versa, despite the age gap everyone got along pretty well.

Louis was smearing a honey lemon mask onto his face while humming a random tune. He looked at himself in the mirror as he rubbed it on his cheeks and forehead, and that's when he noticed his hand. It had small red dots on it, he gasped when he saw how dry it was. He quickly checked his other hand and almost let out a sob when he saw that it was in fact equally dry.

"No, nonononono", he whispered angrily. He quickly finished putting the mask on and washed his hands gently. After drying them, he ran into his room and went to his vanity and grabbed the lotion he had bought a few weeks ago and was about to pour it onto his hand when he realized it could have caused an allergic reaction, hence the red dots.

The sound of his phone interrupted his thoughts, he quickly ran to it hoping it was the person he needed right now. "Harry", he read shakily before answering.

"H-hello?"

_"Hello? Lou? I was calling to see if you wanted to hang out”_

“Uh, sure. What time?”

_“I’ll pick you up in about half hour?”_

“S-sure”

_Are you okay?"_

"I-I... No Harry, I'm not"

_"What? Why? What happened love?"_

"I-I saw my hands today in the mirror and they were dry Harry, dry and I think it’s an allergic reaction because they have red dots all over them. Do you realize how horrible that is?"

Silence... a sigh... and then:  
_"Lou, calm down. It's oka-"_

"No Harry, it's not. What if I find someone and he wants to hold hands with me? He'll be disgusted!"

_"Louis, listen to me. You are beautiful, you have soft tan skin that anyone would be lucky to touch and it's great that you care for it but don't get let it become a matter of life or death. You are too pretty to stress."_

"I-I... Wow, oh my. Do... do you mean that?"

Sigh _. "Of course I mean that babe, I could never lie to you. Plus, it will go away if it’s an allergy, just stop using it.”_

“B-but I need to moistu-“

_“Shhh, we’ll go to the mall today and buy a few new ones you can try and some cream for the red dots”_

Giggle. "Thank you Hazza, you're the best"

_"No problem, Lou. I'm here for when you need me"_  
  
After the phone call, Louis went to rinse off his mask and smiled when he realized how much softer his skin already felt. He fixed his hair to the side and then proceeded to his closet, picking out a pastel red jumper with some white leggings. He decided to grab some money even though he knew Harry would insist on paying, maybe he could buy him an ice cream to repay.

"Mum, I'm going out!” he yelled as he ran down the stairs and towards the front door. He stopped though, when he didn't get a response and went into the living room where he figured his mother would be.

And yeah, there she was; lying on the couch, face down with a bottle of Jack Daniel's on her left hand. _Surprise_ , _surprise_.

Johannah Poulston had been married twice and had divorced both times, the first marriage leaving her with Louis and the second one with a bunch of insecurities that were drowned with alcohol **.** This caused her relationship with her child to become almost non-existent, except for when she was drunk ("Louis! I'm sorry baby! Louis please" "It's okay mum" or "Do you understand why your father left me? Do you?" "Yes, mum. I'm making sure that won't happen to me"). She had unknowingly passed those insecurities onto Louis, who was doing everything in his power to find someone to love him better than the men in his mother’s life ever did.

Louis sighed and shook his head, walking towards the blanket on the floor before grabbing it and covering his mother with it. He placed a kiss on her cheek and was about to caress her hair when a honk interrupted him. His eyes lit up knowing who it was and he quickly turned around and practically sprinted to the door.

He opened the door and let out a giggle at the sight before him. Harry had gone out of the car and now stood in front of him with his hand about to knock, his lips were parted and eyes wide and staring at Louis. He cleared his throat and quickly lowered his hand while scratching the back of his neck with the other, his cheeks were red and it made Louis wonder how he made his skin so pale, it looked beautiful with an added blush. He made a mental note to ask later.

"W-wanna go?” Harry asked looking down at the floor. He had stared a bit too long and he wasn't sure if Louis knew or not but he still didn't want to creep him out. The beautiful boy quickly nodded with a bright smile that reached his eyes and caused little crinkles to form, Harry smiled back and was glad Louis couldn't see himself or else he would've thrown a fit ("Wrinkles Harry! I hate them!").

"Let's go!” Louis took the taller boy's hand in his and led him to the car, where Harry was quick to open the passenger door like the gentleman that he was and let the younger boy inside, receiving a grateful smile in return. "Thank you Harry, such a gentleman", he murmured before Harry closed the door and moved to the other side of the car.  


The drive to the mall was silent except for the music coming from the speakers, it was a Spotify playlist they had made together to show each other what they liked. It had as much Harry as it did Louis and it was cheesy but it was them.

When they got out, Harry opened the door for Louis like he always did and put his hand on his shoulder as they made their way to the sliding doors. They both smiled lightly as they passed the food court where they became friends.

“So where do you want to go?” Harry asked and Louis immediately gave him a stern look, he should have known. The older boy laughed and shook his head walking over to the same store they had met and had come back to a million times. “I was kidding, of course I knew”

“You better have,” Louis exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at Harry, making him try and bite it. It wasn’t odd, their relationship, at least they didn’t think so. They didn’t know each other for long but had gotten close pretty easily and now that they hung out at school it was only obvious their bond would grow stronger.

After they finished shopping Harry suggested going to talk somewhere less crowded and Louis agreed, bouncing happily with his bag full of new lotions and perfumes (because Harry can’t resist buying something when Louis looks at it with blue twinkly eyes).

When they got to the small café they quickly looked for a table in the back and sat down together. If there was something Harry had learned about Louis these past few weeks was that the boy loved cuddling or just being close. He always grabbed Harry's hand and played with his fingers or hid his face in the crook of his neck; completely oblivious to the things he did to him. If Harry had been crushing hard before they even met, he didn't want to know what he felt now.

"I'm going to go order, Yorkshire tea for you, right love?” Harry asked already knowing the answer, except he didn't, which is why it was a surprise when his precious Louis shook his head and mumbled something under his breath, making Harry furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"What was that, sweet?" he asked softly placing a hand on the delicate boy's shoulder.

Louis shivered and shook his head, "never mind".

Harry sighed and sat down beside him again, nuzzling his neck. Louis giggled and shrugged his shoulder trying to get the older boy off; it was amazing how fast Harry could make him smile.

"What's wrong, babe?" He mumbled, leaning his head on Louis' shoulder; green eyes looking up at his blue ones.

Louis sighed and shrugged, "I dunno, I just don't feel pretty today". He sniffled and wiped at his nose, avoiding the older boy's gaze. He knew he'd tell him he's beautiful again and ask him- _beg him-_ to never think like that again but he couldn't really help it, sometimes he just didn't feel pretty and it made him feel so shitty.

"Hey, it's okay," and oh, he wasn't expecting that. "It's okay to have days where we just don't feel like it, whether it's pretty or just happy. It's what makes us human" no, didn't expect that either. He looked up at those greens he'd grown so fond of and saw that the boy was giving him a soft smile that made his stomach flutter and cheeks burn. _What?_

His eyes widened for a bit, realizing his thoughts but he quickly covered it with a wide smile and a nuzzle to Harry's chest making the boy chuckle. _Harry._ The person who was always there to assure him that he was the prettiest boy ever and let him know how much he cared for him, despite knowing him for merely a few weeks. And now Louis was curious:

What was running through Harry's mind whenever he said that? What was he _feeling?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to update earlier but school happened :( Starting a new story is hard but I'll manage.


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are rumors in school that Harry and Louis are dating. They both find that they don’t mind them that much.  
> They go shopping and meet Chloe, Harry’s former crush and best friend.

_"Sexual, hey girl if you wanna feel sexual_   
_you can always call up a professional_   
_they stick pins in you like a vegetable"_

 

A few days passed with Louis constantly wondering. It didn’t help that there was talk about him at school. It wasn’t necessarily bad but it just made his mind (and heart) race even more.

( _“Have you seen the kid Harry’s dating?” “Yeah, he’s pretty”_

_“I don’t think they’re dating” “Well, you’ve obviously haven’t seen the way Harry looks at him” “How does he look at him?” “Like he’s a god or goddess in this particular case, he’s very feminine”_

_“Wait, he’s dating a year 11? But he’s so much older!”_

_“So Harry’s a fag, aye?” “I don’t blame him though; I mean have you_ seen _his boy? He’s pretty as fuck”)_

The thing is, he hadn’t actually noticed the stares and whispers he got, at least not until Zayn mentioned it to him at school.

He was casually opening his locker when someone slammed it closed, startling him. “What the actual frick?” he exclaimed angrily once he turned to see Zayn, one of his closest friends.

“I should be asking _you_ that question,” the raven-haired boy said, crossing his arms in the process. Louis furrowed his eyebrows because what? Zayn scoffed at that and rolled his eyes, he couldn’t believe his friend was playing dumb. “Oh please, like you don’t know what I’m talking about”.

“I genuinely don’t know”. Zayn scoffed again and Louis tilted his head, still confused. “I’m serious, Zayn. I have no idea what you mean.”

They stayed like that for a few moments and _oh_. Zayn realized the shorter lad (only by like an inch, mind you) really had no idea what he was talking about; and he wasn’t so sure if he should tell him.

“Well uh-“he stuttered.

“Just spit it out, Zayn. What is it that you had to make me feel so attacked for” Louis said impatiently, the bell could ring at any given moment and he could not spend the day not knowing.

“People are saying that you and Harry are dating” the boy blurted out. Louis’ face was neutral for a few seconds, letting the information sink in. His eyes widened once it did, he hadn’t expected that at all. It wasn’t that he hated the idea; it’s just that Harry was _Harry_ , gorgeous and popular and Louis was just Louis (at least to himself he was). Why didn’t he hate the idea?

 

For the rest of the day all he saw was the way people stared at him and then –as if he weren’t there and hadn’t just made eye contact with them- turned to whisper to their friends about him. There wasn’t anything too bad, just a couple of jealous people, but it was still a bit overwhelming.

After his last class, he made his way to the parking lot where he was supposed to meet Harry. It had become a thing for the older boy to drive him to his house and do homework together, but he really wasn’t in the right mind to meet him and considered just walking home. The older boy seemed unfazed by what people were saying and even winked at a few jocks that pat his back congratulating him and what the hell.

It didn’t help that Zayn kept teasing them all day and Harry would blush all the way up to his ears while wrapping an arm around Louis’ waist whilst the latter only rolled his eyes with rosy cheeks.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the honk of a car, Harry’s car to be exact. He smiled when the black Ford Focus stopped in front of him and waited for his potential crush (wait what?) to come out and open the door for him. When he did, Louis kissed his cheek like he always did (except this time it was different) and murmured a _thank you_ that made the older boy’s cheeks and neck go red.

 “So we’re going to the mall right?” Harry asked once they were on the road. His eyebrows furrowed when he realized Louis wasn’t answering, he decided to stay quiet though knowing the boy sometimes got lost in his thoughts and didn’t like to be interrupted.

Louis thoughts were clouded by self-consciousness. Did he look okay? Did his clothes match? Was the sweater flattering? Did Harry like the way he looked? He couldn’t help it; with this newfound knowledge that his best friend didn’t mind the idea of dating him (and neither did he) everything seemed much harder than it was. He had gone three times to the restroom during his last period just to make sure he looked okay enough to meet Harry today and he concluded he did, until he got inside the car that is.

“Love, we’re here”, the curly haired boy said gently shaking his knee. It was then that Louis noticed they had arrived and Harry had already parked and opened the door for him. He got out shakily and gave the older boy a tight smile before walking towards the entrance.

“So where do you want to go first?” Harry asked stopping and looking around at the shops. He was purposely-avoiding Louis’ eyes because he was afraid that he’d do something stupid if he did. He too had heard the rumours, hell he hadn’t even bothered denying them when asked; kept trying to convince himself it was to protect Louis from bullies but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Louis looked around as well, humming as he scanned the stores he could see. His eyes then zeroed in on the store he had been meaning to go for a while. He sighed and gulped nervously and turned to look at Harry, who was still looking around. Would he judge him? Maybe it could work as a test.

“H-haz I wanna g-go there” he said and pointed to the store after gaining Harry’s attention, whose eyes widened when he followed Louis’ finger. This was it, he was going to die.

“O-ok” he said and let himself be lead to the store by the smaller boy.

As soon as they got into the store Louis went straight for what Harry had feared the most: panties (then again it _was_ a lingerie store, what did he expect?). He gulped when he saw the feather haired boy rummaging through the basket and pulling out the ones he liked. He gulped and went to sit down over at the dressing rooms, facing Louis.

He smiled when the younger boy gasped cutely as he found something he liked. His smiled quickly faded though when he started making his way towards him, giggling and skipping.

“I’m gonna go try them on, ‘kay? Can you wait here?” Louis asked, blue eyes twinkling. The taller boy nodded stupidly making him giggle; he gave him a peck on the cheek and skipped towards a dressing room.

Harry sighed and relaxed, _it’s going to be fine, you’ll be fine it will-_ His thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched voice saying his name, not Louis’ though. He furrowed his eyebrows and turned towards the dressing rooms. His eyes widened when he saw Chloe running at him in a bra and panties she was probably trying on. She tackled him in a hug and he hugged back.

Chloe was one of Harry’s close friends who he had liked a year back but never told her because well, he figured she wouldn’t feel the same (kind of the same with Louis with much stronger feelings). They had hung out and flirted and even almost kissed a few times until she got a boyfriend leaving Harry not necessarily heart broken but not okay either. Now though, she seemed to want to get back the relationship they used to have and Harry didn’t think it was the best idea.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, furrowing her eyebrows. Harry was about to answer when a small voice spoke up and when he turned around to see his body when rigid and his eyes widened.

There stood Louis William Tomlinson, the (potential) love of his life, wearing a plain white t shirt that hugged his torso nicely and a pair of baby blue panties arms crossed and jutting his hip out. And yeah, Harry was fucking dead.

“H-he’s h-here with m-me” Louis stuttered, and damn it he did not just give himself a pep talk about confidence to just come out and stutter. Who was this girl anyway?

Chloe looked at him and raised her eyebrows; it wasn’t rude but more confused. She turned to Harry who was too busy ogling Louis and hit his chest earning a wince from the taller boy who certainly wasn’t expecting that.

“You didn’t tell me you were gay!” She exclaimed with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Harry fish mouthed about to give an explanation but got interrupted by a small whisper.

“A-are you?” Louis asked dropping his confidence mask completely and all his insecurities coming back. What if Harry was straight? Had he read the signs wrong? Was he not pretty enough? Guess it didn’t matter if the answer to the first question was yes.

“I-I…It’s hard to…uh…to explain” The green eyed boy said, looking back and forth at Chloe and the first boy he’s ever liked. Both of them looked expectantly at him, the girl looking at him crossed armed and Louis with a hand over his stomach, looking at the floor. “I like girls mostly _but,_ ” he emphasized when he saw the tears starting to pool in Louis’ eyes and why? Why did he seem so disappointed? He decided to ask later and continue explaining “I’ve been feeling different lately and uh, maybe I like pretty boys as well” he finished the last part looking directly at Louis who immediately brought his gaze back up to him, cheeks burning when he noticed Harry was already looking at him.

Chloe sighed, knowing that look. It was the look he would give her right after they laughed hysterically and were coming down from the high, but now it seemed to hold more meaning. She shrugged and turned to go back to her dressing room. “’Kay then, I’ll uh… I’ll see you around”

Harry nodded dumbly, not even sparing her a glance; eyes still trained on Louis and how gorgeous he looked like that. Wide glassy blue eyes, fringe swept delicately over his forehead and a slight blush coating his cheeks (and don’t even get him started on the panties).

Louis gave him a small smile before walking a bit backwards and into his dressing room, the realization that he was just in a pair of panties (and a t shirt that didn’t even cover them) dawning on him. He let out a giggle once he was inside, he knew he wanted Harry to like him but he didn’t know he wanted it _that_ much.

After getting dressed he walked out of the dressing room and over to Harry who was seated on a bench with his head in his hands. “H-hey,” he hesitated when he saw the boy’s eyes were closed.

“Oh, hey,” Harry’s head shot up fixing his gaze on the smaller boy. “You done?”

Louis nodded and gave him a shy smile. The curly haired boy nodded and smiled back, standing up and offering his hand which was taken without second thought. They made their way over to the cash register and had a small fight over who was paying which Harry won claiming Louis aroused him by coming out in those delicious panties and okay, was that something said among friends?

They walked outside after paying, Louis hand holding Harry’s arm because he had little legs and couldn’t keep up dammit. He couldn’t help but ask what had been nagging at him ever since Harry commented on his peculiar choice of underwear. He decided to ask and stopped walking pulling on Harry’s arm in the process.

The older boy stopped and turned to look at him in confusion, being led to a bench near a small fountain where people dropped coins and wished for things. They sat facing each other and Louis fiddled with his fingers nervously.

“Did it make you uncomfortable?” he murmured avoiding the older boy’s gaze. He always cursed Harry’s piercing gaze in moments like these, he could never read the emotion in it. “W-with the... underwear?”

“What?” Harry exclaimed because seriously, how could Louis ever think that? It was outrageous; he’d proven that no matter what he did he would always be there for him. Louis could kill someone and Harry would show up at his house with a bag and a shovel, no questions asked. “Baby, of course you didn’t. I would never judge you for something you like; besides you looked beautiful in them”

“Y-you re-really think so?” Louis inquired, blue eyes looking up at Harry’s green ones with hope and admiration.

“I really, _really_ do,” he answered tickling the boy with his fingers on his waist and if he could make Louis laugh and giggle all day he gladly would, it was adorable.

oOOo

“So what was that all about?”

“What d’you mean?”

They were now on their way back to Louis’ house, after a walk around the mall talking about the rumours that had surfaced. Harry had shrugged and told Louis that he didn’t mind them as long as the younger boy didn’t either.

“You know, the whole ‘He’s here with me’” the older boy imitated Louis, quite badly too. He got a laugh out of it though which yeah, he could see himself trying to do that for a while.

“Firstly, I do _not_ sound like that excuse you,” The younger boy said after laughing, Harry could be so dumb sometimes. “Secondly, I’ll tell you if you tell me who she was” he continued, ignoring the way the older boy’s hands tensed and held the steering wheel tight upon hearing his request.

“I-uh…’kay,” Harry took a deep breath and started after stopping at a red light. “H-her name is Chloe, we uh we used to be really close-“  

“Did you date her?” Louis interrupted, dreading the answer.

“No! No, we didn’t, no. I mean uh… I guess you could say I liked her a while back but I never said anything because I figured she wouldn’t feel the same. It was honestly so weird-, “he cut himself off with a humourless laugh, red light turning into green, “She would flirt with me and I never knew if it was serious or just meaningless, I found out a few months later when she got a boyfriend though. Eventually I got over her but our friendship was never the same; I barely talk to her now which is fine”

Louis huffed, “well she looked _really_ happy to see you. I mean, did she have to go say hello in her underwear?” Harry barked out a laugh and turning to Louis, his smile disappearing when he saw the angry look on the younger boy’s face.

He pulled up into his house silently and said, “Well now it’s your turn to tell me”

He was startled though, when Louis quickly turned to him and inched his face closer until there was barely any space between them, his lips ghosted over Harry’s a bit when he spoke. “I did it because I was jealous”

He then kissed the corner of his mouth and got out of the car, leaving Harry an emotional wreck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're liking this story so far and have a wattpad you should give it a vote over there: larrysweaterpaws, hmu :)))   
> Thank you to those who commented, it makes me happy.
> 
> All the love, M. xx


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall, Harry, Louis and Zayn hang out. Larry starts acting coupley.  
> Louis realizes his feelings for Harry. Talks about sexuality ensue.

_“Kids forever, kids forever  
Baby soft skin turns into leather”_

“So you just ran inside?”

Louis nods and shrugs, what was he supposed to do? He didn’t want to stay and find out if his suspicions had been wrong ( _or right,_ Zayn insists). Harry could have been disgusted although he’s too nice of a human to think that.

“Well yeah, what was I supposed to do?” he asks, imagining all of the scenarios that could have happened if he had stayed in the car. Zayn sighed, annoyed that his friend just couldn’t see how amazing he was and how he wasn’t the only one that thought that, Harry did too.

“And you haven’t talked about it since?” he asks, groaning when his best friend shakes his head.

It was quite obvious to be honest, every time the four of them would hang out (the fourth person being Niall, Harry’s overly excited Irish friend) Zayn would nudge Harry whenever he stared at Louis too long or called him ‘babe’ or ‘love’, the older lad would just blush and shrug his shoulders.

Just now he and Louis had sent them to get pizza as they prepared for movie night and talked about boys (and by boys they meant Harry). Before they left though, Louis clung to Harry like a koala begging him to bring some ice cream as well. It didn’t take long for the older lad to crack, smiling and kissing the corner of Louis’ mouth, a silent promise that he would indeed bring the cookie dough ice cream.

The younger boy was left in shock and touched the place that was still burning, when Harry didn’t meet his eyes he noticed a pink colour tinting his cheeks and neck. He turned to look at Zayn with wide eyes that in turn made kissy faces at him, making him roll his blue eyes.

Now they were sitting on the couch, facing each other with their backs pressed to each of the couch’s cushions talking about what had went down when Louis and Harry had gone shopping.

“The girl was hugging him in her _underwear_ what was I supposed to think about that?” Louis exclaimed with his hands moving all over the place making his dark haired friend laugh. “I-I honestly don’t know why I felt that way, like I needed to prove a point”

“It’s perfectly understandable, Lou,” Zayn answered teasingly, bumping his shoulder with Lou’s. “You needed to show her he’s your man now”

Louis laughed and shook his head, on the inside though, he was freaking out. Zayn was right actually, he had had all the intentions of jumping on Harry and while whispering ‘mine, mine, mine’ and there was of course an obvious explanation but he couldn’t bring himself to think about it. He hadn’t liked someone in all his fourteen years of life and now suddenly Harry pops up making him feel things, _butterflies._

“I-I know it’s obvious,” Louis mumbled turning to look at Zayn with a serious look. “B-but I don’t want t-to say it out loud”

“You like Harry”

“Shhhh!” Louis covered his ears and closed his eyes tightly. How dare Zayn say it just like that, as if it wasn’t a big deal? “Why would you do that?”

“You’re making this bigger than it is, Lou,” Zayn sang grabbing the boy’s hands and uncovering his ears. “It’s obvious you like each other, you think you act all innocent and friendly but to the rest of the world it’s pretty clear that you’re Harry’s boy and he’s yours”

“Oh my God,” Louis exclaimed covering his mouth with his hand in shock, he stood up abruptly and turned to look at Zayn who was laughing hysterically. “I like Harry Styles”

There’s a gasp and soon Zayn is standing up and tackling him to the ground giggles leaving both of the boys’ mouths. They roll around before standing up and jumping up and down in celebration of the new discovery.

oOOo

“So Harry, how are ya?” Niall asked. He had finally caught him alone; it had been hard considering Louis was always with them.

“‘M good and you?” Harry asked uncomfortably, he knew what was coming. Niall hadn’t been that discrete with all the nudging and ‘we’ll talk later’s and he honestly feared for his life. He was worried that if his friend knew he would tell Zayn who in turn would tell Louis and he didn’t need that right now.

He wasn’t afraid of unrequited love or anything, he just wanted to be there for Louis (oh, who was he kidding? He was a goner from the first look he got at the store).

“Oh I’m pretty good,” the blond answered mischievously and then gasped quite falsely as if remembering something, “You know who else is especially good? Louis William Tomlinson”

Harry’s breath hitched at the name and his cheeks tinted with a giveaway blush, this hadn’t happened to him in a while. He had never been so deep in a crush since Chloe and even with her it was different, he tried to convince himself that it was because Louis’ a boy and the first one he’s ever liked but there’s something else.

It was his smile and the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed; the way he fit perfectly into his side and hid himself when he was nervous. He had started doing that after the first day of school when he was really nervous and Harry hugged him making Louis feel safe.

“I know you like him,” Niall stated pulling him out of his thoughts, he was glad he wasn’t the one driving because he would have probably crashed the car. “It’s so obvious, I swear”

“Is it?” Harry gulped nervously, looking at the trees and buildings as they passed by. Tub of ice cream firmly grasped in his hands, the only thing on his mind was giving it to the younger boy and hoping to get a kiss on the cheek in return.

“Extremely mate,” Niall exclaimed parking on the side of the road, he knew this was a serious talk and he needed to have his full attention on his mate. “I thought you were straight though, not that there’s a problem if you’re not”

Harry’s eyes widened and he let out a shaky breath; he knew it was coming and that he’d have to face it sooner or later, he just didn’t expect it so soon.

“I thought I was too,” He murmured and turned his body towards his friend who he knew would never judge him. “But when I saw him all I could think of was how pretty he was and not in an accepting way but in an attraction way and I was so scared, still am”

“I-I’ve tried to... to look at other guys, _that_ way. Just to see if what I was feeling was just an awakening or something else and I _couldn’t_ , Niall,” he explained shakily, running a hand through his hair. “It’s only Louis and I may not understand it but I’m embracing it”

Niall smiled sympathetically, he had too felt the same way when he realized he had a small attraction for boys as well. It was small but still there and he accepted it. He pat Harry’s back to show him it was okay and that he would support him.

“I think that’s a sign, mate,” the blond acknowledges ignoring the look of confusion on Harry’s face. “Maybe he’s your soul mate or summat and that’s why he’s the only boy you like”

“Y-you think so?”

“I don’t want to get your hopes up but it looks like it, yeah” He offered a smile and turned the car on once more, with this talk they were ready to head home.

oOOo

Louis and Zayn were gushing about Harry and the gentleman he was when the boy himself arrived along with Niall. They placed the pizza on the table in the middle of the room and the blond nudged Harry to indulge him into handing the ice cream to his crush.

Upon seeing the tub, Louis gasped and let out a squeal. He jumped of the couch and ignored the extended arm offering the dessert opting for hugging the life out of Harry, who was shocked to say the least but hugged him back tightly. They embraced each other until they heard Niall scream ‘PIZZA’ and Zayn laugh loudly.

They pulled away with red cheeks and before Harry could tell Louis that they should probably grab some pizza before Niall finished it all, the younger boy pecked the corner of his mouth before giggling and running away.

And Harry never stood a chance did he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back and I'm finishing this no matter how long it takes. Let's just hope it's not too long...  
> Also I made a [ tumblr ](http://thunderstormlarry.tumblr.com/) so hmu if you want uwu

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic, yes. It's a chaptered one too, difference is this one is actually completely planned so no promises but let's hope this goes well. :)


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